Happy Birthday my precious C!!

Baby girl, we love you so much and can't imagine our lives without you.  You are the most amazing gift and precious miracle!  Your excitement and joy for life brings us so much happiness.  We can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for your precious life!  WE LOVE YOU!!!

2 Years ago today....

How can it be?  2 Years ago, today...we first learned about our sweet miracle, C.  I will never, ever forget that call!!

We had just resolved, that once again, our referral did not come.   Month after month we were told it was mostly likely coming but it never did.  I had just hung the phone up with my friend from the agency...she had told me that maybe next month it would come.  I was so bummed but hopeful!  That was all I could do...hang onto the hope that C's referral would eventually come.  A couple hours later the phone rang and caller id showed our agency.  My first thought...how cruel of my friend to call me back on referral day...didn't we already establish that our referral wasn't coming?

All I remember was my friend, K, saying, "Ummmm, I guess we spoke too soon!"  

I started to panic and my heart dropped to my toes and I said, "What...what are you saying...(as I began to ball)...are you saying it came...did our referral come?"  

K... "It's here...I can't believe it but it's here!!"

Needless to say I was literally speechless and the rest was history :)

Here's a video of when we showed the kids and grandma's Cana's picture for the first time (pause site music)  I lost it when "I" said, "She's happy."  It was so precious!!

Just think....

America has more than 300,000 churches. Just imagine what would happen if each congregation empowered even ONE of its families, through a variety of support (and even financial assistance), to adopt a child. We'd have more than enough homes for 127,000 boys and girls nationwide (US) who are waiting right now for someone to love them. (Focus on the family statement)

What about the OVER 147 MILLION orphans of this world?!?!? How can we put a DENT in that statistic as Christians? I struggle with trying to wrap my brain around that statistic...I am only one mama!

When I start thinking of the statistics, it blows my mind! We are called, by God, to care for these precious ones! Who will stand in the gap and help the orphan? God's direct command is to CARE for the orphan (PURE and LASTING religion in the sight of God our Father means that we MUST care for orphans and widows in their distress. James 1:27). Do you see that? As Christians we MUST care for these precious babies...How will you care for the orphan?

~Becoming a child's FOREVER & EVER family (my personal favorite...LOL)
~Foster a child (provide a safe, loving home during a time when a child needs this most)
~Financially (supporting a family adopting, an orphanage, an adoption agency)
~Prayer (specifically carving time out of your day to pray for these sweet orphans...for their protection, their needs to be met, for a family, for their salvation)
~Help raise awareness about waiting children and the need to care for the orphans
~Mission trips...GO and visit these kiddos...love on them and teach them about Jesus

I could easily turn this into a very long post :) You all know me(us) well enough to know how deeply passionate we are are about the orphan situation. I have many tear-filled nights as I ask the Lord for direction on how He wants to use me for the orphans. Use me, Father, I am here...use me!! I want to be Your hands and feet!

HOW IS GOD CALLING YOU to care for the orphans...it's not IF He is, it's HOW is He? Be praying for these sweet ones!!!

Waiting on the Lord...

Why is it so hard to wait? This season of waiting has been a peaceful one but there are times when I wonder how much longer will we have to wait? And questions of "Am I waiting the way you want me to Lord?" "Lord, help me to wait faithfully...completely trusting!!'

~How long until P has a new job....
~How long until we can bring our next peanut home...this is the hardest one for me to wait on :) I feel like our little guy is waiting for us and that thought rocks me to my very core!! I am confident that my Jesus is loving on him and protecting him until it's our time to come.

My God is faithful and His plans are perfect and if He is calling us to wait, then we will wait...I will say that I can't wait till He says, "GO...GO...GO"....hehehe...

So, I started looking up bible verses on waiting. WOW, there are a TON of them...think God is trying to tell us something :) I am waiting on You my precious Master, my precious Daddy!!

Here's a few:

"And not only so, but let us have joy in our troubles: in the knowledge that trouble gives us the power of waiting. And waiting gives experience; and experience, hope: and hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:4-5

"Be waiting for the Lord, and keep his way; and you will be lifted up, and have the land for your heritage: when the evil-doers are cut off, you will see it." Psalms 37:34

"Do not say, I will give punishment for evil: go on waiting for the Lord, and he will be your Savior." Proverbs 20:22

"Whoever keeps a fig-tree will have its fruit; and the servant waiting on his master will be honored." Proverbs 27:18

"And those who have knowledge of Your Name will put their faith in You; because you, Lord, have ever given Your help to those who were waiting for you." Psalms 9:10

"I am waiting for the Lord, my soul is waiting for Him, and my hope is in His Word." Psalms 130:5

"When I was waiting quietly for the Lord, His heart was turned to me, and He gave ear to my cry." Psalms 40:1

"Love is never tired of waiting."1 Corinthians 13:4

"So that you may not be slow in heart, but may take as your example those to whom God has given their heritage, because of their faith and their long waiting." Hebrews 6:12

"And so, as the result of patient waiting, our forefather obtained what God had promised." Hebrews 6:15

"Go on waiting calmly, my brothers, till the coming of the Lord, like the farmer waiting for the good fruit of the earth till the early and late rains have come."

James 5:7

"Be as calm in your waiting; let your hearts be strong: because the coming of the Lord is near." James 5:8

AWESOME Adoption shirt

This precious family is fundraising to bring their 2 sweeties home from Uganda. You HAVE to see these super-duper cool shirts!!! Click on the flower!

Spring Cleanin' Baby

What is your first plan of attack for spring cleaning?

I'm thinking....clean carpets and some fresh paint BUT I have to weed through each room first. The sad thing is once I'm done weeding out each room, I don't want to clean carpets or paint anymore...maybe I should do that first ;)

Please Pray for Stellan

UPDATE 3/26: Sweet Stellan has not broken out of SVT for over 16 hours now. They are going to have to go to more drastic procedures to basically flip/shock his heart out of SVT. PLEASE, PLEASE be praying...I can't even imagine the fear this family is feeling. They are hanging very tightly to our Lord.

Although I don't know this family personally, I will say that I feel very attached to them. I have followed the miracle of their sweet Stellan since the beginning. Please pray as he fights for his life...his sweet family loves the Lord deeply. Lord, if it's your will, please allow his precious heart to flip out of SVT and to be completely healed...keep this sweetie out of V-Tach...Father, continue to comfort his mama and papa and give them the strength to endure this.

You can click on his picture to follow their blog. For the most current updates, you can read her twitters on the left hand side of their blog.

LOVIN' the Beach!!

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE going to the beach and have passed that love onto my kiddos ;) We had a beautiful day down here in Southern California a couple of weeks ago and we decided on a whim to go to the beach with both my sisters and their families. Talk about FUN!!!

The boys were ALL over the place...made it impossible to get their pictures...grrrrr :)

Someone want to tell me where is my baby boy?!? He is so grown up!

Our nephew

Almost all of them...
The BOYZ

Sweet, sweet niece baby "B"

Our pretty girl!

Naaa, she doesn't like the water one bit.

This picture shouts "Talkin' to my Jesus"

Daddy's girl

My older sister and family

~Our crazy bunch~

My baby sister and family

Yahoo...I'm back!!!

I have sure missed you guys! Hmmmm...what's new over here....not too much.

Still no job for hubby but God is AMAZING. He is providing in ways I never could have dreamed of!!

Hubby's health is fabulous and all is absolutely CLEAR!! They will do a follow up procedure in 6 months and every year after that. I'm still so blown away with what all the Lord has done with this situation.

Okay...my "big" project I've been working on...This year our agency will be celebrating 50 years of building families. I came up with the idea of creating an album with as many Nightlight families as we could. We ended up with over 130....some even from the early 60's. My friend Courtney and I have worked every waking minute over these last 2 weeks to get the book complete for the big Nightlight Gala on March 28th. We went to print today...YAHOO!!!

I sure wish there was a better way to show you our pages--can't share the whole album for privacy issues :( The red aroud the edges and spine are not in the original.

Off to see what you all have been up to...I have a feeling it's going to take a few days :)

Missing my blog...

I am knee deep in an awesome project for our agency...I'll show ya next week what I've been working on. It has consumed every spare minute :)

I have missed checking on all of your blogs...I love you guys to pieces and I WILL be catching up soon. I pray you are all well!

No new news, either...just keep praying...HUGS!!